The Darker side of LOVE
by ShadowsOfANightmare
Summary: Seventeen year old Claire Rocwell is reluctant to find herself a suitor before her eighteenth birthday. But what happens when she runs into a certian black clad butler? Rating for future chapters. SebastianXOC.
1. Black Clad Butler

Growing up as the daughter of a nobleman in London was harder than most would admit to. We must never speak unless spoken to. A Lady must never raise her voice. She must always act cute and weak around her Lord. And she must never fall in love with a man of a different social standing. It seemed that we were never to act like ourselves unless around close friends in a private setting. I despised the rules I was forced to follow, but i was never able to say so in front of my father. That was, until the day I met HIM.

Shortly after my second brothers birth, my mother had come down with an unknown illness and unfortunately passed away. Being that I was the oldest child, I had taken it upon myself to care for my two younger brothers instead of finding a suitor. My father didn't take kindly to it either. Whenever we received an invitation to attend a gala or social event, I was forced to go in place of my father. His hopes being that I would find my future husband there. I never bothered to argue with him, and out of respect I attended the gatherings without a word.

The latest gala my father had been invited to was hosted by the Phantomhive family. He had been doing business with the head of the family for a few months now and decided that both of us would attend. To be honest, I was nervous about attending this gathering. I heard the rumors that spread around about this particular Earl, and quite frankly, some of them weren't pleasant at all. I tried not to think much of it, being that rumors tended to cause a great deal of trouble for anyone who believes them.

A few nights before the gala, my father sent me and a servant of my choosing to a renowned tailor shop in Central London to get my dress. Being that it was so close to Halloween, the Earl requested that the attendee's dress up. "Have you decided on what you wish to go as, Miss?" I looked at the servant I let come with me. Avangelina was almost like a sister to my brother's and I. Growing up, we would always tell each other our secret crushes and what not. Avangelina was actually the only friend I had. Her dirty blonde hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. Her amber eyes always filled with excitement and a longing for adventure. I smiled."No not yet. It's hard to think of something when half the time someone else also shows up in the exact same attire. That's why I'm not too fond of costume galas." "If I may be so bold as to suggest that you create your own costume. If you are allowed to, Miss." Avangelina said. I thought about it briefly. Father probably wouldn't be too happy about it, but it guaranteed that no one else would show up in the same thing. "That may prove to be quite a bit of fun actually." I mused. "By the way, Avangelina... What was it my father spoke to you about yesterday? Maria said that you were quite depressed afterwards." Avangelina's gaze was to the floor of the carriage. Her head lowered as if she was too afraid to tell me. "Master Alexander said that if you could not find a suitor by the time of your next birthday, I would no longer be able to serve the family." She said solemnly. My heart sank. I knew my father wanted me to find a suitor, but never did I imagine him to take it that far.

I leaned over a placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I would never allow him to do such a thing. If my mother were still alive she would tell you the very same thing." "Thank you Miss Claire." Avangelina and I were both silent the rest of the way into London. The carriage eventually came to a stop and both of us stepped out. The streets of Central London were as crowed as ever. People rushing to either get to the pub or just to get home. Pretty sad if you asked me. These day's people took for granted everything that they had. Never appreciating any of it. Avangelina opened the door of the tailor shop and I walked in with her following closely behind.

The front of the shoppe was filled with sample fabrics and mannequins that had on some of the latest fashions for nobles. An older woman came out from behind one of the curtain's that hid the doorway to the back of the store. Her chestnut coloured hair was pulled back into a bun. Her hazel green eyes widening after she spots us. "My goodness, is that you Claire? I can't believe how much you resemble Lady Rocwell! It's no wonder all 'em boys are chasin' after you!" The women laughed as she approached us. "It's been a while Aunt Anna." I smiled and hugged her. "Far too long my dear. It feels like just yesterday my sister-in-law was bringing you in for you first ball gown. My how time has flown by." Anna chuckled. I nodded. My mother wished she could have stayed a bit longer to see me marry, and I told her the day she passed away that I would find my husband before my next birthday. "Aunt Anna, by chance, would I be able to make a custom dress. Father was invite to a costume ball at the Phantomhive estate and he asked me to get a dress for the event." I said, seeing her face light up as soon as I mentioned the word 'custom'. Aunt Anna was never one who liked to see people wear 'simple' clothing. She preferred a challenge most of the time.

"Of course dear. You and Avangelina go in back and choose whatever fabric you like. I have another client comin' in shortly so once I'm finished with them, I'll help you make your dream come true." She mused. I couldn't help but smile and at the same time, I could feel the excitement roll off of Avangelina's body. We made our way towards the back of the shoppe when the front door opened again. "Ah, Lord Phantomhive. Right on time." Anna said, welcoming her client. Avangelina and I both turned. Until now, I hadn't seen the Earl of Phantomhive. To my great surprise, the Earl was actually a young boy no older than thirteen. From the way he wore an eye patch over his right eye, it was safe to assume that he had been injured.

From behind me, I heard Avangelina gasp. That's when my gaze landed on HIM. Standing next to the boy was a tall man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, clad in black. His hair was as black as the feather of a raven, his long bangs framing his angelic face. His reddish brown eyes seemed to be able to look into the soul of another. A strange feeling overcame me at that moment. I wanted to know more about that mysterious man. I HAD to know more about him.

Avangelina and I would later learn that the man clad in black was actually the Earl's butler. Curse the man who said noblewomen could only marry other nobles. As much as I desperately wanted to go up and talk to him, I knew that Aunt Anna would probably scold me for it. I sighed internally and turned my back towards the two before walking into the back room, Avangelina following closely behind. For the most part, I was quiet the entire time we looked though the different colored fabrics while Avangelina would randomly bring up the subject of Lord Phantomhive's butler. She had a better chance of getting with him than I did. The thought quickly soured my mood. We hadn't been in the back for long when Aunt Anna came in with Lord Phantomhive and his butler following behind. I couldn't help but giggle when Avangelina quickly stopped mid sentence.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye just in time to catch the butler glancing over at me. My eyes quickly darted back to the shiny blue fabric that I had been look at. It had become a normal reflex after attending so many of those galas and social events. If I spotted a noble that did look cute, his fiancée was never far behind. I always had to dart my eyes away quickly so that no one would ever notice, and so that it wouldn't cause problems for myself or the other noble. It seemed that all the cute ones were already involved with another and all that was left for me were the older nobles who had already let themselves go. The thought sickened me that I would ultimately end up marrying one of THOSE men. Well, there was the Viscount Druitt, Aleister Chamber. But that man was never looking for an actual relationship with any women. I was doomed to marry a man twice my age and I knew it too. "Please forgive me Lord Phantomhive. I normally don't have to scold my seamstresses for not completing a task. I'll have this fixed in no time." Aunt Anna said, taking a seat at one of the sewing machines. Somehow, it didn't surprise me that part of Lord Phantomhive's costume hadn't been completely sewn together.

From the way my aunt spoke, it sounded like Cleo hadn't finished sewing the costume. Poor girl had to work two jobs in order to help support her mother and three siblings. I had met her a few times in the past. A very shy girl with blond hair that was always done in a braid and her nut brown eyes always seemed to be filled with sadness. It was only on those rare occasions of seeing her, that she ever looked truly happy. But the young girl always had a tendency to not finish a task completely on time. Never her fault of course seeing as how she would get so caught up in her work here and completely lose track of time that she would end up rushing out of the shoppe in order to make it to her next job on time, leaving many of her works unfinished till the next morning. Aunt Anna never did scold her though. She always said that to any of the nobles who had the audacity to actually say something about how untrustworthy her workers were.

The room fell silent again, except for the squeaking of the pedal and sound of the needle hitting the metal plate under the fabric. "Ah~ Miss Claire what about this one?" Avangelina asked me. I turned my head in her direction and my gaze landed on the silk like purple fabric she had pulled down from one of the shelves. I'll admit, it did look beautiful, but it didn't seem like what I wanted to go with. "Hold onto that one for now Avangelina. We'll keep looking a bit longer." I smiled. I didn't want to make her feel bad. Avangelina smiled happily and folded the fabric over her arm before looking again. I sighed internally. I had decided on going with a Celtic look since for the longest time, although unknown to everyone except Avangelina and my mother when she was alive, I had been obsessed with the old Celtic occults. Mainly because I envied some of the dresses that the High Priestess usually wore in their ceremonies. This would actually be my one and only chance to get away with wearing something such as that. I chose two other fabrics before walking over to Avangelina. She seemed fixated on all the purple fabrics. Normally I like purple, but I had fallen in love with two of the blue fabrics I had in my hands.

Avangelina hadn't been paying attention and grabbed a red fabric that had a vase on top of it. When she pulled on it, the vase toppled over and fell towards us. Instead of trying to catch it, I grabbed my servants arm and quickly pulled her away. Her eyes widened in surprise as the vase hit the floor, shattering on impact. Everyone's gaze quickly snapped towards us. "Wha~ I-I'm soo sorry My Lady!" She panicked. I sighed in relief. At least she didn't get hurt. That was actually my only concern. "Are you girls alright?" Aunt Anna asked; panic slightly raising in her voice. I turned my head towards her and nodded. Lord Phantomhive didn't seem fazed by the sound of shattering porcelain. He sighed, not bothering to look towards us. His butler on the other hand was watching us intently. I could feel the blush spread across my checks from under my skin. "L-let me help you, Avangelina." I stuttered, quickly turning my attention to the shattered vase. Avangelina was already trying to pick up some of the pieces and I carefully kneeled next to her, making sure not to cut my hand on any of the pieces as I picked them up.

"Th-thank you for your concern My Lady, but please don't worry about—" I cut her off. "It's partially my fault to. I didn't tell you the vase was there when you went to grab the fabric." Avangelina smiled and nodded, silently thanking me for the help. I tried to ignore the pair of eyes that were burning holes into the side of my head as I helped my clumsy servant. I kept my eyes on the floor knowing that the Phantomhive butler was watching me, probably confused why a noble would be helping their servant clean up a mess they made themselves. "Sebastian, why don't you go help them." Lord Phantomhive said, the smile that was most likely now on his face was apparent in his voice. "Of course." He replied. I almost fainted when I heard his velveteen voice. '_Wha~!_' I internally panicked. My face heated up as a blush spread across under my skin. Not because he wasn't hot, because he was the very definition of the word, but I didn't want him to see the blush on my face. This actually made it worse, and even more apparent than before. My heart was pounding in my chest as I heard him approach us and stop right next to me. Damn it all! This is so embarrassing. A Lady should never show her feelings in public. It was considered disrespectful by many in this day and age. I was very much a social outcast. From the corner of my eye, I saw the grin plastered on Avangelina's face. She was actually enjoying this now. I groaned internally. I went to reach for another piece of porcelain and Sebastian's hand brushed over mine, even though he was wearing gloves. I reacted a bit too quickly and cut the palm of my hand as I pulled away from the sharp porcelain edge in the same moment.

Blood quickly began to flow from the fresh cut almost immediately…


	2. First encounter

**Kon'nichi wa minasan^w^**

**Shadow-san here, with the next chapter of the story. I had a fun time actually writing this the first time… And if you don't want to wait for me to upload the chapters on here, check out all eight chapters on quizilla. So, the second chapter on this site is actually chapters 3 and 4 on quizilla so yeah… Anyway, creative criticism is welcomed. Please send reviews^^**

**I do not own Kuroshitsuji ((sadly)). All credit goes to Yana Toboso-dono. **

I didn't notice that I cut my hand until after I saw the looks on both Sebastian's and Avangelina's faces. Although, to be truthful, the look Sebastian had kinda scared me at first. "M-My Lady are you alright? Please be more careful!" Avangelina panicked. "It's fine. It doesn't even hurt." I lied. Of course it hurt like hell, but I wasn't about to scream bloody murder in front of everyone either. I sighed internally and stood up; laying the pieces of porcelain I had in my other hand in a small pile on the ground. The amount of blood only made the wound look worse than it actually was. It wasn't deep enough to where I would worry about a scar, but I didn't know how long the cut actually ran either. I was too preoccupied with the cut on my hand to even notice that Sebastian had stood up with me until he took my hand into his.

I screamed bloody murder internally at that point. Well, not bloody murder, but something almost close to it. Like whenever a girl got a kiss from the one person she wanted to be with for the rest of her life and ran to tell her friends. "Bloody hell child! Can't you be more careful about what you're doing?" Aunt Anna scolded as soon as she looked up and saw the blood on my hand. I laughed nervously. "S-sorry Aunt Anna. I wasn't really paying attention." She rolled her eyes, knowing what I really meant by that. "The first aid kit is in the bathroom. Best clean that up before it gets infected. I don't know how long that vase has been up there." "Yes ma'am." I nodded. Just as I was about to pull my hand from Sebastian's, he let go. "Please, allow me to assist you, My Lady." He offered.

As usual, Ciel wasn't excited to be in Central London. A permanent scowl on his face as we walked to the tailor shoppe to pick up the costume he had made for the gala at the end of the week. He was never fond of social events and had it not been for Lady Elizabeth's persistence, there would probably be no gala to begin with. Personally, I would have preferred not to go along with that blond _**demon's **_idea of a costume ball, but Lady Frances had also insisted on the idea. It seemed that my work only piled up and those three imbeciles only made things more difficult. Sometimes I actually found myself wondering if this boy's soul was worth the headache. Yes, of course this boy's soul was worth it. I just had to be patient. It was going to take some time to complete this human's objective naturally. "Let's hurry up and get this over with. I want to get back to the estate before **THOSE** **THREE** destroy it." Ciel said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Of course." I replied.

Opening the door to the tailor's shoppe, a very pleasant scent caught my attention. Ciel walked in as I held the door for him and entered myself, letting the door close on its own. "Ah, Lord Phantomhive. Right on time." An older woman greeted. She was the head seamstress of the shoppe and the one that my Young Master had contracted to create his costume. His usual tailor was away in another country at the time. My gaze drifted off towards the back of the shoppe where two young women were standing near a doorway. The dark haired female was looking over the Young Master, seeming surprised. It was slightly difficult to tell whether that pleasant scent that had greeted me was hers or the young dirty blond haired women behind her. I pretended not to notice their gazes when both of them finally noticed me. A normal reaction that human females tended to have. Especially the younger ones.

Neither of them stayed for very long as the dark haired female turned her back to us and walked into the back room followed by her companion. "If you don't mind, Lord Phantomhive, I would like to make sure that everything fits perfectly before you leave." "Alright." Ciel sighed in agreement, handing me his top hat. Miss Anna went into another room, returning with a box that held the Young Masters costume. I sighed internally. Humans were still a foreign concept to me, even after two years of living in this pathetic world. As soon she pulled out part of the costume, a frown appeared on her face. She sighed in disappointment. "I'm so sorry Lord Phantomhive. It seems that the seamstress I told to finish sewing the jacket never completed her job. It should only take me a minute or two to fix this, if that does not interrupt your schedule." "That's fine. I have nothing to attend to this afternoon." Ciel sighed, trying not to voice his clear irritation. Miss Anna nodded and had the Young Master follow her into the back. Naturally I followed him as my role dictated.

"Please forgive me Lord Phantomhive. I normally don't have to scold my seamstresses for not completing a task. I'll have this fixed in no time." She apologized again. Ciel didn't say anything. My gaze landed on the dark haired female who was concentrating on a blue fabric she seemed fascinated in. Yes, that pleasant scent did belong to her after all. Now that her companion was a bit farther off to the side, it was easier to distinguish both of their scents. The smell was very tempting and inviting to say the least. I was surprised that this girl was still alive with all the demons that lurked in this city. I toyed with the idea of taking her soul once my contract with the Phantomhive boy was finished. "Ah~ Miss Claire what about this one?" Her companion asked. Her name was Claire was it. A fitting name for one that could tempt a demon without even knowing it. From the way the other female spoke, it was safe to say that she was a servant to Claire and the family she belonged to. "Hold onto that one for now Avangelina. We'll keep looking for a bit longer." She said.

Her voice rang like a bell. Beautiful and alluring. Wait, what am I thinking? A human girl actually made me think of her that way? This was turning into a first. I've been around humans for far to long if I'm starting to actually think of one of them as anything BUT a source of food. I was forced out my train of thought when a gasp escaped the girl Avangelina's lips as Claire pulled her out of the way of a falling vase that ended up shattering when it hit the floor. I noticed Ciel raise a questioning brow at me out of the corner of my eye. I didn't say anything. "Wha~ I-I'm soo sorry My Lady!" Avangelina panicked. Claire looked relieved to see that her servant hadn't been injured. "Are you girls all right?" Miss Anna asked, slightly startled by the sudden sound of shattering porcelain. Ciel only rolled his eyes. That sound was a normal occurrence around the estate. It hardly ever fazed him.

It didn't take long for the young women to notice I was watching her. She blushed and kneeled next to her servant, starting to pick up the broken pieces. "L-let me help you, Avangelina." She said nervously. "Thank you for your concern My Lady, but please don't worry about—" "It's partially my fault to. I didn't tell you that the vase was there when you went to grab the fabric." Claire smiled, trying to also put the blame on herself. She's quite the strange one. Not many humans seemed to care about what happened to others of their own kind in this day and age. "Sebastian, why don't you go help them." Ciel mused. The expression on his face hinted that he was interested in the young noblewomen's reaction. A smirk threatened to show itself but I kept my composure. "Of course." I replied, and walked over to both women.

It was quite obvious that Claire was a bit panicked, especially with the blush that had appeared under her skin. Avangelina was grinning, like she was enjoying the look on her mistress's face. Humans were always amused by others suffering. She reached out for one of the larger pieces of porcelain, apparently not noticing her companion's expression. My hand brushed over hers as I pretended to causally reach for the same piece. She pulled back rather quickly in surprise, the sharp edge of the porcelain cutting her hand at the same time. I almost completely lost control of myself at the scent her blood gave off. Much more tempting than how I had imagined it to be. Demons could normally tell what a person's soul was like just by tasting their blood. But for someone's blood to give off the irresistible aroma that demons normally killed each other over was something even rarer than that of the Young Masters. It made me really begin to question how this girl has lived for so long.

"M-My Lady are you alright? Please be more careful!" Avangelina panicked. She sounded completely horrified. It took me a moment to actually take hold of myself. I stood in the same moment Claire did and took her hand into mine. It wasn't deep but there was enough blood on her hand to satisfy any demon. Trying to keep my composure the whole time though was easier said than done. I missed most of the conversation she had with Miss Anna, being that the scent of her blood was still distracting me. I was able to catch the words '_first aid kit_' before once again losing my train of thought. She was about to pull away after a moment, but I let go of her hand and smiled. "Please, allow me to assist you, My Lady." One way or another I was determined to get a taste of her blood before leaving.

My head started to spin when Sebastian asked to help clean up my hand. This is what I wanted, no? A chance to actually speak with him without anyone else around? I was only able to nod since my words caught in my throat. This was my chance to forget my title as a noble and maybe even… No! Father would be furious if he ever learned that I spoke to a servant with such intentions. Sebastian followed me into another room just off of the back room. It wasn't really a bathroom per say. There was a counter and sink along with a medicine cabinet and the toilet was hidden behind another door. I tried my hardest not to acknowledge the fact that the Phantomhive butler was right there next to me as I opened the cabinet and took out a small first aid kit my aunt had put together using a shoebox.

My heart skipped a beat and began to pound in my chest when I heard the door close and lock. What have I just gotten myself into…?

So many images and ideas rushed though my head all in the same moment. I was terrified all of a sudden and I hadn't realized that I wasn't breathing till Sebastian spoke. "Is something wrong, My Lady?" He asked. "Ah~ N-no, I was just thinking about something trivial." I said, trying to hide the nervousness that was creeping into my voice. I was becoming paranoid. '_Why should I be afraid of him? He's a servant; I doubt he would even try something as indecent as those images! Lord Phantomhive would surely kill him if that were the case._' I reassured myself. Yes, if a servant ever tried something of that indecency, surely both my Father and Lord Phantomhive would rip him apart piece by piece. Slowly, I was able to calm myself down a bit. Well, at least until Sebastian picked me up and sat me on the counter. Once again, my heart was sent racing. My face began to heat up even more from blushing so much.

Sebastian didn't say a word the entire time he carefully wiped off the blood on my hand. It was an awkward silence, but I had no idea what to say. I wanted to ask him if he had any family, but that could possibly bring up memories from his past. Especially if he grew up in East End. This wasn't turning out the way I had hoped it would. "S-so um… h-how long have you um…" I stuttered. I felt like an idiot. "Two years." He said plainly, although I could see the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Oh…" The room fell silent once again. "This may sting a bit, My Lady." I knew there was peroxide on the cloth he held. My eyes closed shut and I slightly turned my head away. I despised the feel of peroxide on an open cut, so my reaction was merely a reflex.

I waited to feel that burning sting, but it didn't come. Something else ran over the cut on my hand. Warm water? I opened my eyes to see what he was doing, but I regretted ever doing it. The cloth was placed over the open cut and I hissed at the sting it caused followed by the endless dull burn, which apparently meant that it was working. Sebastian chuckled, as if seeing me in pain amused him greatly. Sadistic bastard. "I said it would sting." He mused. I glared at him. Something about him seemed very off in that moment. I wasn't sure what it was though, and for some reason, I got a sudden nagging feeling to run away from him screaming. I shook it off. "Just because you said it, doesn't mean the sting won't magically disappear." I said in a sarcastic tone. It only seemed to amuse him more. What is with this guy? He wrapped my hand in a cloth bandage so it wouldn't get infected while it healed. To my surprise, the cut was no longer than an inch.

Sebastian helped me off the counter and started to clean up. "Um… Thank you. For helping." I said, my hand reaching for the door handle. I turned it and to my surprise, it wasn't locked like I thought. I must have been deathly afraid if my mind was playing tricks on me. Oddly enough though, I didn't bother to help Sebastian clean up. Normally I would have helped whether or not he was my servant, but something instinctively told me to get away from him as quickly as possible, and those instincts took control over my body till I was back over at Avangelina's side.

She was smart to leave instead of helping to clean up. Had she stayed even a second longer, there was a chance I would have lost total control over myself. From the moment her blood touched my lips I was positive that this wasn't something **ANY** demon could recover from within a few seconds. The taste of her soul was indescribable. Something that one would only come across once in a millennia. I would be damned if I let her get away so easily. Yes, I was going to make her mine. By any and all means.

It took me a bit longer than I had expected to completely regain my control and composure. Any soul that could make a demon long for it as badly as it had me was worthy of any praise in my opinion. Not surprisingly was Ciel eyeing me carefully when I stepped out. For a boy of only twelve, he was quite smart. Then again, I normally didn't act of my own accord either. "Let's go. I want to get back to the estate now." He was clearly annoyed. "Of course, bocchan." I allowed no emotion to show itself. I didn't need any more **EXTRA** work than what already needed to be done. I followed behind him without turning or saying a word to either the young noblewomen Claire or her servant. The Young Masters costume had been repaired so to speak and bowed to Miss Anna after she handed me the box. I left with the intention of searching for Miss Claire's estate once the Young Master was asleep.

Avangelina and I left the shoppe two hours later, my new dress in hand. Neither of us said a word about the Phantomhive butler Sebastian. Aunt Anna of course did a wonderful job of helping design my dress. And I was overjoyed with the end result. But, even after they left, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I had to stay as far away as possible from Sebastian. It was beginning to unnerve me how it felt like he was a danger to everyone around him. And, whatever it was that made him give off that ominous aura, seemed only to be known by the young Earl and himself. "Miss Claire… Is there something that's bothering you? You've been awfully quiet since leaving the shoppe." Avangelina asked, breaking the unsettling silence in the carriage as we headed back to our estate. I shook my head. "No… It's nothing important. Just a trivial matter is all."

That couldn't be further from the truth. This wasn't a trivial matter. It was something of a **MUCH** larger scale. If I told Avangelina what I actually thought, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it wouldn't worry her. After all, if I usually got a bad feeling around people, it was always for a very good reason.

We returned to the estate not long after. Dinner was served once I had washed up and afterwards, the family went upstairs to the drawing room while the servants began their evening chores. It was a quiet night as usual. Michael and I played chess till it was time for him to go to bed, and Edward had already been put into his crib for the night as well. Father and I were the only two who remained in the drawing room as time ticked away. Eventually I gathered up the courage to finally ask Father about the one thing that had been on my mind since meeting the Earl. Well rather, his butler. "Father, did something happen to Earl Phantomhive's parents'? I assumed that Lord Vincent still headed the family." I said, not looking up from the chessboard. Father sighed. "I'm sure you recall the fire that occurred at their estate about two years ago. Unfortunately, Lord and Lady Phantomhive perished in the fire and for a time, their son Ciel had disappeared. When he returned, that blasted butler came along with him." He nearly spat out the word 'butler'. That wasn't the normal react I would expect from my Father. Especially since he worked with the Earl. "Oh… that would explain the eye patch then." I said under my breath. My Father raised a questioning brow. "I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. Good night." "Good night."

I couldn't help but wish I never asked that question. It wasn't something that I wanted to hear. But even though one question had been answered, another one appeared. Father usually didn't speak poorly of other servants, but this was a first. And now I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong… no not wrong, something almost… _supernatural_ about the Phantomhive butler. I dressed in my nightgown rather quickly and jumped into bed. Hoping to forget some of the day's events, I more or less forced myself to sleep, only to be awakened a few hours later.

Around eleven thirty, I ended up waking myself after a strange sensation pulled me out of my dream. My room felt much colder than it usually did. My eyes had a hard time adjusting to the darkness. I rubbed them in the hopes that they would finally adjust to the dark room. It helped only a bit. I looked towards the corner of my room near the window which for some reason was much darker than it should have been. My eyes widened at the sight of a pair of glowing red eyes staring directly at me.

My body was frozen with sheer terror, my voice catching in my throat….


	3. Uninvited

**Kon'nichi wa minasan^^**

**Shadow-san here once again with the 3****rd**** chapter of **_**The Darker side of Love**_**. ((unless of course your going along with quizilla's chapters, which actually makes this the 5****th**** and 6****th**** chapters XD)) Anyway enough with my confusing you…**

**To Migoto Nami-san, in regards to the review for the first chapter, thank you for the amazing review^^ In truth, when I originally wrote that chapter, I kinda BSed the part about what woman could and could not do during that time. ^^'. It just seemed appropriate and I never once bothered with googling any of that. And as for your review of the second chapter… but you might hate me for this… What can I say; I'm the kind of writer who loves plot twists and stuff. XD. Oh, and regarding the POV's for the different characters, initially I wasn't absolutely sure if fanfiction's format differed for quizilla's, which it does slightly, so I never put in which character's point of view the reader was in… however I fixed that for this chapter.**

**Okay, enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoy this chapter of the story. I ((sadly)) do not own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. All credit belongs to Toboso Yana-dono. I do however own the character concepts for the entire Rocwell household. This includes Claire's cousin and her cousin's fiancé. **

I was paralyzed with fear as the ominous figure stared back at me, not hinting at any movement. The world around me had delve into the darkness and held no means of returning to my room. It felt like I was staring at an Angel of Death, waiting for the moment his scythe swung down to claim my life. But whoever or whatever it was that was staring at me from the corner of my room didn't seem to hold any intention of killing me. Or at least that's what I was desperately praying for. Time had stopped. I heard no sound of ticking from the clock that sat on my bedside table. Everything was frozen. My heart pounded rapidly against my chest and I felt faint for a time, but the feeling soon vanished, along with the ominous figure, the other worldly darkness and the unnatural cold that had found its way into my room. The ticking of the clock had returned, along with the sound of footsteps in the hall. My voice still had not found its way back to me and I barely had control over any of my limbs.

I screamed at myself repeatedly to get out of the room and run towards whichever servant it was that had walked by. Stumbling out of bed, I did my best to run over to my door and flung it open. The hall was dimly lit with the candlelight from the candelabra as the head butler Jeremy made the last round of the night before going to bed himself. He turned to me, surprised that I was still awake at this hour. His expression quickly went from confusion to worry when he saw my ashen white face.

~Sebastian's POV~

The estate had fallen silent rather quickly as I was left to finish whatever tasks that had not been completed today. Thanks to Lady Elizabeth's _**unexpected**_ visit, I hadn't been able to tend to these tasks earlier in the day like I had wanted. I sighed in discontent and looked over to the Grandfather clock that sat in the library. It was already midnight. I had lost the opportunity to go searching for Miss Claire's estate as per my original intentions. There would be no other times for me to follow through with that plan seeing as how there was still so much to be done before the gala. And thanks to those three incompetent servants, my work had quickly piled up. Again. My only other chance to see the young noble would be at the gala. I would have to settle with that for the time being.

I finished chancing the coke in the hearth and left the room to start on the next task.

~Claire's POV~

The rest of the week had been… uneventful to an extent. All that had really happened was the arrival of the new servant whom my Father never MENTIONED to anyone. The young man was to replace Jeremy at the end of the year. Much to everyone's displeasure. Jeremy was like a grandfather to me. He was always kind and encouraging, never scolding any of the other servants when something went wrong. _"Mistakes are a common occurrence…"_ He would say. None of us wanted to see him go, even though it was his age and health that contributed to my Father's decision. When my Father introduced Dimitri Alverez, a rather tall young man in his early twenties with messy short dark brown hair ice blue eyes, I couldn't help but feel like I had seen him somewhere before. It was an unsettling feeling and I wasn't alone. Aiesha and her sister Layla, both of whom came to England from their home in Egypt looking for work to help support their younger siblings and ailing parents, didn't like being anywhere near him since he came. Anne-Marie, who was Jeremy's oldest daughter, started to spy on her father when she did not have anything to tend to.

She approached me the other day asking if I felt uneasy around the new butler-in-training. I couldn't answer her directly since said butler came into the room so my response to her was a sharp nod. It seemed that because of Dimitri, along with my Father's strange behavior, the atmosphere of the estate had changed drastically. It had even become noted by Michael, who was only about eight and was usually off playing in the garden to really ever notice a thing. However, much to my greatest surprise, Avangelina was the only one among the servants who spoke to Dimitri directly. Whenever I saw her, Dimitri was never that far away. And the unsettling feeling that I got when I first met him only two days before had grown into something else. It had turned into the same feeling of caution and instinctual fear that had overcome me the day at my Aunt's tailor shoppe.

I changed into the hooded black and blue Celtic style dress an hour before leaving. I was secretly glad that I didn't have to wear a corset or petticoat for once. I could hardly breathe in those accursed corsets and the petticoats my Father had me wear were always too heavy for me to even stand straight. I was going to enjoy every minute of this as best I could. Anne-Marie came in not long after and helped put some of my hair into a French braid. She thought it would look better if the rest of my hair was kept down in the back. I agreed with her. "Oh, forgive me for not mentioning this sooner Miss Claire but, it would seem that Avangelina has fallen ill. She won't be able to accompany you this evening." Anne-Marie said. She actually sounded reluctant to tell me. Something told me that Avangelina was only pretending to be ill. It wouldn't be surprising either. I groaned internally and turned to Anne-Marie as she stood near the door, waiting to hear my response. "I see. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. Thank you Anne-Marie." She nodded and took her leave.

Great, now I wasn't going to have any excuses to stay away from Sebastian if worse came to worse. This night was already starting off on a bad note, and it only seemed to be getting even more troublesome. On my way down to the main hall, Aiesha dropped a glass vase, cutting her leg badly when it shattered. Layla had gone into a panic when it happened and had gotten several of the servants, including the cook to worry about the two girls more than was necessary. But, then again they all had a right to be extremely worried. Including myself. Aiesha was never the clumsy type. And Layla had never gone into a panic like she did at the sight of blood. Both girls were usually quite reserved. The last time something like this had actually occurred… was in the weeks following up to my mother's death. However, since it was usually Aiesha whom this thing happened to, nothing ever shattered.

Nothing had shattered and no one was seriously injured before mother died. The only thing of serious consequence was when Mother's favorite teacup had somehow chipped. She ended up lashing out at the poor girl since she was the one who Jeremy asked to bring up the tea that day. Myself and the other servants learned from Layla that whenever something happened around Aiesha, it was usually a bad sign. I couldn't help but wonder who was the next to possible join my mother. I shook the thought off immediately. There was no way that something was going to happen. Last time was just pure coincidence. There were no such things as psychic's or prophets. Those where just ways people got scammed out of their money. I asked the servants who had gathered to clean up what they could and to make sure that Aiesha was taken care of before starting back down the hall.

Father had been waiting by the door for me and both of us stepped outside once I met him at the door. Jeremy had already brought the carriage to the front, but he wasn't alone. Dimitri stood next to the open carriage door. His expression was emotionless. It sent a cold shiver down my spine. "Dimitri will be accompanying you tonight seeing as that Avangelina isn't well." Father said. My eyes widened with disgust. I would have asked Jaylen or Anne-Marie to come had I know this would happen. "Father you can't be serious! A-and besides, won't it keep a suitor away if I'm seen with him?" I thought that would have worked, but my Father ignored me and got into the carriage. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jeremy only shaking his head. I didn't want to be near Dimitri even if he happened to be the last man on this god forsaken earth. Hell, I would rather spend a night in a gutter in East End I detested him so much. I glared at my Father before turning and walking over to Jeremy. "Is it alright if I sit with you Jeremy?" "Of course my lady." His tone suggested that he preferred it that I stayed away from Dimitri. He helped me up onto the driver's bench before climbing up himself and taking hold of the reins.

The carriage door closed and Jeremy snapped the reins sending the horses into movement. I watched without saying a word as the scenery changed from suburban London to the forested countryside. It was fairly cool out, but it wasn't like the cold winter nights that were fast approaching. The full harvest moon had finally appeared after a few clouds moved past to reveal their hidden secret. The world was given an ominous feel as the dark sky took over. I noticed a few bats flying over head, catching their evening meal. For some reason I felt like the night was perfect for the gala, almost as if everything had been purposely planned this way. Eventually the forest gave way to a rather incredible manor, much bigger than our own. There were already a few carriages to the side, one of them I recognized as my cousin Anastasia's. She was the last person I would have expected to show up at an event such as this.

Jeremy pulled the carriage up just short of the steps that led into the manor. I climbed down from the bench with ease, not even worrying about whether or not I was going to slip and fall. I adored how easily I could move in the dress. The expression that held fast to my father's face when he stepped out of the carriage was of pure disgust. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Why go to the trouble of coming if you don't like the person hosting the event in the first place? Not wanting to be seen around my father when he appeared to be in a foul mood, I walked a few paces behind him. Dimitri on the other hand, actually seemed excited. Hadn't he looked completely indifferent to the situation not long ago? Or was it that my father never told him where it was the gala was being held, or who was hosting it. I assumed it was the latter of the two. The door of the estate opened just as we approached it, and I could see Dimitri's expression change to the one of indifference that he had earlier. Now it seemed to make a bit more sense. He was keeping his emotions locked away so as to not embarrass our family. Smart man.

Standing next to the door, although not surprisingly, was the Phantomhive's black clad butler Sebastian. I could feel my face heat up slightly as a soft blush formed under my skin. I hope my father didn't see that. "Welcome to the Phantomhive estate, Lord Rocwell. My master is honored that you accepted his invitation." Sebastian said. His tone, at least to me anyway, sounded sarcastic. Like he knew that my father was going to come even if he said he wouldn't. "I'm honored that Lord Phantomhive went though the trouble as to invite me." My father scoffed. He wasn't too thrilled at all. I shook my head. This was embarrassing already and I hadn't even gotten inside yet. Father walked by Sebastian at a rather fast pace. Surprising myself and apparently even Dimitri. I sighed internally and walked in, catching the smirk that tugged at the corner of Sebastian's lips as I passed by him.

There were quite a few people in the main hall already, mingling about as they waited for the gala to actually start. My head snapped up when I heard someone cry out my name and I was embraced in a bear hug shortly after…

"Claire my darling baby cousin! It's been far too long!" Anastasia cried as her arms wrapped tighter around me. "A-Anastasia…! Th-this is… quite the… surprise." I managed. She was squeezing the life out of me. I thought I was about to pass out. "Yes yes I know. I'm usually not one for these gatherings but Lord Phantomhive INSISTED that I attend." She smiled, finally releasing me from her bear hug. I inhaled deeply before smiling back. "Is that so…" He must have promised her something in return for coming. Even if someone had insisted that she attend their gathering, Anastasia would still refuse them. "By the way, where is Uncle Alexander? I saw him walk by but I assumed you were with him." Anastasia wondered. I sighed. "Father is in one of his 'I would rather die than attend this gathering' moods it would seem." "Oh… Uncle Alexander is such a complicated man. Let it be a lesson Claire, never marry a man." She laughed. "If only it was that simple." "Try not to worry about it too much darling. You still have some time before your next birthday. Don't rush yourself into making a decision… Now come on, there's someone I want you to meet."

Anastasia grabbed me by the wrist and pulled over towards another group of people. They seemed to enjoying themselves. If only I was ABLE to myself. "Darling!" She smiled. One of the men in the group turned and smiled back at my cousin. He looked to be in his mid twenties with short brown hair and dark green eyes. His skin tone was only slightly darker than everyone else in the room. "Claire, this is my fiancé Joel Whitlock. Joel's father owns several shipping companies in and around England." Anastasia said happily, letting go of my wrist and wrapping both her arms around Joel's free one. I curtsied to Joel. "It is an honor to meet you, Lord Whitlock." "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Rocwell. Anastasia has told me much about you and your family." Joel smiled. I wasn't too surprised that Anastasia had already mentioned her family to him. She did the same thing with her LAST fiancé. Maybe she would get lucky and this NEW one wouldn't get up and leave her.

We all conversed for a bit longer. The main topic was about my family's business. Even though I was the oldest, Father refused to involve me in the business. His excuse was because I was a women and woman do not run large businesses and corporations. Not that I particularly cared, but I couldn't help but wish I could AT LEAST meet with all of Father's business associates. If something were to happen to him, I would have to take over for a time since Michael was still too young to understand any of what Father did. Eventually we went our separate ways. Joel and Anastasia walked over to another couple and started up another conversation. As for myself, I wasn't exactly sure what I was even going to do. "Ah! M-My Lady please forgive me!" Dimitri panicked after I bumped into him. To be honest, I actually had noticed that he wasn't with me the entire time I was with my cousin. "Calm down Dimitri, I'm not going to do anything to you." I sighed. "I didn't mean to leave you. Lord Alexander had asked me to accompany him briefly." He said, still slightly panicked. I waved it off. Father didn't want to be here so it really didn't surprise me that he had Dimitri follow him instead of me.

Dimitri followed me around the hall as I absent-mindedly walked around. It appeared that most of the people that had been invited were all of Lord Phantomhive's business associates. Guess that none of my friends were going to show up any time soon.

~Alexander's POV~

The blue eyed boy sat behind his desk in the study his BUTLER led me to. The brat had that ever present cocky smile plastered onto his face. "If I may ask Lord Phantomhive, but why did you request to see me in such a state?" I asked, voicing my clear irritation. I already knew it was a matter of time before the QUEEN'S GUARD DOG found out. "Does one really need to have a reason for requesting to speak with a business associate at a social gathering, Lord Alexander Rocwell?" "Only if it's you, Earl Phantomhive." I retorted. His smile didn't falter or disappear as he motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs across from him. I didn't bother to sit. It would only make it easier for him to sick his dog on me. There was no chance that I was going to die just yet. "What is the real reason you asked for me to attend this gathering of yours Earl?" "I needed a simple distraction in order to fulfill Her Majesty's request." He said, sitting back in his chair. "A distraction?" The pieces I was given simply didn't fit together. If he wanted to do away with me, why go through the trouble of requesting that my daughter also attend? "That's right. Her Majesty wishes for this meeting to go… unnoticed. So I decided to hold a gala instead."

"You cover your tracks quite well, Lord Rocwell. Had it not been that your target was my young master, your arms and drug dealings may have gone on longer than even Her Majesty would expect." The butler replied, standing ever so obediently beside his master.

~Claire's POV~

Throughout the time we stayed in the main hall, waiting for Lord Phantomhive, my guard around Dimitri slowly began to fade away. The instinctual feeling I had to stay away from him was probably me being paranoid. After all, he had shown up not long after that ominous figure appeared in my room. It was obvious that Dimitri was every bit human after he accidently cut himself. I felt really bad for treating him the way I did for the past few days. I'll have to think of something now to show my apologizes without Father getting mad at me.

After nearly half an hour, Lord Phantomhive finally decided to join in on the festivities. Sebastian of course followed the young boy everywhere like the day I first laid eyes on him in my Aunt's tailor shoppe. He was definitely a shadow of the young Earl. We all entered the ballroom, just off of the main hall, as Lord Phantomhive made his way around to all of his guests. He would chat briefly before moving on to the next group of people. A few times I caught the black butler looking at me. I tried to fight back the blush that wanted so badly to appear on my face. "Is everything alright, my Lady? You don't appear to be well." Dimitri asked, sounding a bit concerned. "Ah~! Oh no, I'm fine really. It's just a tad warm in here is all." I lied. I wasn't sick like he was suggesting though. I was actually nervous. And since my Father was nowhere to be found, I was secretly hoping that the Earl wouldn't come over to speak with me.

I sighed internally and smiled up to Dimitri. "I'm going to step outside for a moment to get some fresh air. You can stay in here if you would like." And with that, I walked away from the soon-to-be butler. He was probably going to advice against me going off on my own without someone with me, but I just wanted to have some time to myself for the moment. Making my way through the crowd of people, I finally made it to the patio outside that led into the garden. The cool autumn air felt good against my skin. It allowed me to relax if only for a moment. _'If only I could understand why I have all of these feelings whenever I see that butler…'_ I sighed internally and gazed up at the stars. It was times like these that I wished my mother was still here. She would probably be able to explain all of this for me.

I ignored all the noise that was coming from inside the estate and lost myself in my thoughts. There was no real reason to be here and, in all honesty, I didn't want to look for a suitor. I wanted to go home, where I knew I was safe. Out here, I felt like I was vulnerable to everything and everyone. "Is something bothering you, Lady Rocwell?" Someone asked. His velveteen voice sent my mind into a brief fog. Damn it! Why is it only ME that he seems to speak to? "Ah~! N-no… I-I just, came out to get some fresh air." I stuttered, turning to face the black clad butler. I could feel my face begin to heat up from the blush that was starting to appear. How I was beginning to hate that man for it. "I see. To me it appeared that you were trying to avoid my master." He smirked. No, not Lord Phantomhive. I could deal with a little kid. "No not at all! I-It's just that, I don't know much about my father's business so I uh…" "Understandable." Sebastian nodded. I lowered my head slightly and locked my gaze with the ground. That voice in the back of my head that normally tells a person to not do something stupid was screaming at me to run away and go to Dimitri, but with Sebastian standing in front of the door that led back inside, that would be a nearly impossible task. Maybe if I stay quiet he'll leave.

Such wasn't my luck. He approached me and, of course, the blush that had begun to appear before was now more present than the last time. The band inside the ballroom began to play and the music drifted outside to us. I felt really awkward just standing here with Sebastian now next to me. So many guests would get the wrong idea, including Anastasia, and my family's honor would be destroyed. I groaned internally at the idea of my father scolding me for something that got blow out of proportion. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Sebastian holding out his hand to me. My gaze locked with his briefly before he smiled. "May I have this dance, my Lady?"


	4. Dancing Under the Harvest Moon

**Shadow-san here. Just to let you know, this is technically the last chapter(s) that I have currently completed. However I am working on chapter nine for quizilla, so if you want to know what's going to happen instead of waiting for me to upload **_**chapter 4**_** (( technically chapter's 9 and 10)) check it out over there. Title is the same on both sites. Hmm… oh yeah, Claude and Alois are in this chapter too, but nothing **_**drastic **_**happens… Yet. XD.**

**Now then, would you kindly do the honors for me Miss Claire?**

**Claire: Of course… Shadow-san does not own Kuroshitsuji or its character's. All credit belongs to Lady Toboso.**

Sebastian kept time with the music as it emanated throughout the entire estate. I couldn't help but feel like I wanted this to last forever, but it was only one dance. And I had to keep reminding myself that he was a servant, not a nobleman. I was already pushing my luck by dancing with him, but I didn't want to hurt his feeling's by refusing him either. Why does love always have to be so damn confusing? I sighed internally. We spun about the veranda a few times before the music stopped, signaling the end of the song and the beginning of a new one. I curtsied to the butler just as the band began their next piece. I kept my eyes on the stone beneath my feet. That feeling from before when I first met him at my aunt's tailor shop was starting to nag at me. Another feeling that I couldn't understand. Sebastian was just as human as I was, so why did I get the feeling that he was extremely dangerous. "Is there something bothering you, my Lady? You seem to be quite torn over something." Sebastian asked. His tone didn't sound worried, more like… amused. "Ah~! N-no it's nothing. I was just thinking of a trivial matter." I laughed nervously. Well, it seemed trivial now the more I thought about it. I felt my face begin to heat up once again. Only this time, I think it was from embarrassment.

Sebastian chuckled darkly, causing me to look right at him. He never struck me as the dark type for some reason. Mother was right when she told me to never judge a person based on a first meeting. "What's so funny?" I questioned. He smirked and held a finger to his lips. "You should never doubt that feeling that tells you to stay away. It could be for a good reason." Sebastian bowed and took his leave, returning back into the ballroom. I watched after him, completely dumbfounded. "What was that all about?" I wondered. That was a bit… odd. It's like he knew what I was thinking the entire time. Maybe it was just too obvious that it ended up written all over my face. I shook my head. No, it wasn't that obvious. I was always good at hiding my feelings and thoughts from others, so how did he know about that nagging feeling I had that told me to 'stay away'.

~Sebastian's POV~

I was surprised to find Miss Claire out on the veranda alone. Lord Alexander wasn't a stupid human like most of the noble's who had secret ties with the Underworld. She probably sent off her escort somewhere so she could get away from the other guests. Such an amusing girl.

"_Sebastian, I want you to see if Lady Rocwell has any idea about Lord Alexander's involvement in the Underworld. If his words hold true, then she will be allowed to leave." Ciel said with his normal fake smile. I place a hand over my chest and bowed. "Of course my-!" "I can assure you my daughter has no knowledge of my dealing's in the Underworld, Lord Phantomhive. I would rather that you kept your 'DOG' away from her." Lord Rocwell spat, glaring at me as he usually did whenever the subject of his family came up. "I hold you to your word, Lord Rocwell, but Her Majesties orders were specific 'Eliminate anyone among the Rocwell family who is involved with the drug and arms trafficking'. If I am to dispel all of Her Majesties worries, than I must be certain that your daughter has no knowledge of your business."…_

It didn't seem that she was paying any attention to the noise around her seeing that she didn't turn around or speak when I approached her. The young noblewoman's scent was a pleasant greeting. It only tempted me to take her soul now. I sighed internally. That would only create even more problems that I didn't need at the moment. "Is something bothering you, Lady Rocwell?" Her sudden reaction did amuse me. Had she really not noticed that I was standing here for the last two minutes? Humans are such perplexing creatures. "Ah~! N-no… I-I just, came out to get some fresh air." Claire stuttered as she turned from the garden to face me. A blush slowly crept across her face, turning her cheeks a rosy color. I couldn't help but feel accomplished. I wasn't even trying to even seduce her. "I see. To me it appeared that you were trying to avoid my master." I doubted that she was trying to avoid the young master but more so me. I smirked at the fact. She was too obvious to read, although humans would have never caught onto it.

"No not at all! I-It's just that, I don't know much about my father's business so I uh…" "Understandable." I nodded. It seemed Lord Rocwell was telling the truth after all. Surprising seeing that it's common human nature to lie. One of their major flaws that made them so weak. Claire's gaze was locked on the stone beneath her feet. Far too innocent for her own good in my opinion. I doubted that the young master would expect me back too soon. Why not have a bit of fun tormenting the young noble. She was quiet for a majority of the time. Most likely hoping that I would leave. Of course I was not going to give up on a soul such as hers so easily. The band that Lady Francis had, unfortunately, requested to play was about to start their next piece. Now was my chance to crack this one's exterior. Watching her expressions as I approached her, I was obvious that she was becoming quite uncomfortable, but at the same time, her heart was constantly betraying her as the young noble's blush became a deeper crimson. I held out my hand to her just as the next piece was beginning and of course she hesitated. "May I have this dance, my Lady?"

Claire finally accepted my request after a moment of internal deliberation. She was smart but the human's version of society dictated that a Lady must never show her true intelligence in public. Such a waste. These humans of course have no appreciation for a woman who knows what she speaks of. I didn't bother to say anything to the already nervous noblewomen as I lead her through the steps of the dance. It wasn't hard to sense the distress that she was in. This was quite amusing to say the least. Of course, the young master always has to have impeccable timing. He was becoming impatient since I had yet to return. Luckily though, the song— and regrettably the dance— had come to an end. She curtsied like a proper lady and I bowed as a 'gentleman'. Not that I didn't mind putting on a façade to fool these pathetic humans, but if I expected to get this one's soul, it was a necessary act. "Is there something that's bothering you, my Lady? You seem to be quite torn over something." Her gaze quickly shot back up to mine, trying to pretend as if she was completely fine. Lady Claire was very entertaining in some ways. "Ah~! N-no it's nothing. I was just thinking of a trivial matter." She replied.

I couldn't hold back a chuckle. Her pathetic attempts at trying to hide her feelings of course did not go unnoticed. Claire rose a brow. "What's so funny?" She questioned. Well, even my fun has to come to an end at some point. Of course not before I leave her with something to ponder on until the next time we meet. I rose an index finger to my lips. This of course was meant for her to keep as a secret. "You should never doubt that feeling that tells you to stay away. It could be for a good reason." With that, I bowed and took my leave; Returning to the young master's study before he became too impatient.

~Claire's POV~

I stayed out on the veranda for a bit longer before deciding to go back inside. Lord Phantomhive's butler was such a confusing man. Sometimes it seemed like he was hiding some horrible secret that could completely destroy his master's reputation. Ugh~! Why must I even bother thinking about it? Dwelling on such ideas will only get me into trouble. "Ah~! My Lady, are you alright?" Dimitri worried when he approached me. I was too distracted to bother giving him a direct answer. "Mmh." That was all I replied. I was more worried that Mister Sebastian may have taken my silence as offensive. Great. Make enemies with a business partner's staff. That just makes everything SO much easier. Maybe I should ask Anastasia's help… Then again she's just as horrid as Madame Red when it comes to gossip. I don't want to ruin my family's reputation. I could ask Avangelina once I return home, but lately she hasn't been much help with anything. I groaned internally. Why must my life become so complicated?

This was becoming more than I could handle. Why couldn't that man have been born a noble? Then maybe I wouldn't need to worry about anything. "L-Lady Claire, please s-slow down for a moment!" Dimitri said, grabbing a hold of my arm and pulling me out of my trance. "Uh~! Aha! I'm sorry Dimitri. I-I have a lot on my mind at the moment. Is there something you need?" "Honestly Milady, please try not to concern yourself too much with trivial matters. If there's something that you would like to say to him, then don't be afraid to say it." "Wha~! Wh-What are you talking about? I-I have no ide—!" Curse the heavens for torturing me in such a way! "I will not say a word to Lord Alexander. However, I do suggest that you do not delve any further into your relationship with Lord Phantomhive's butler. It would completely ruin your family's reputation and social standing." Dimitri warned. The look in his eyes seemed to appear as if he could understand what I was feeling. I decided to keep my head down instead of speaking. It felt like my words where already betraying me even though I said nothing. "Now, Milady… There is a guest that wishes to meet with you." "Oh?" "Yes. It would seem that Earl Trancy's son has also been invited to attend this gathering." I sighed. "Lovely. That old geezer should be thrown into jail for what I've been told he does. It's disgusting. Not to mention downright unforgivable." "My Lady?" Dimitri questioned. I wasn't surprised that Father still had yet to tell Demetri about the Queen's OTHER house.

"As I'm sure you're well aware, the Phantomhive household has been the 'Queen's Watchdog' for generations. The title being passed down to each head of the family. The Phantomhive's are tasked with eradicating Her Majesties distress whenever the Underworlds affairs tend to surface into our society. But what most don't know is that Her Majesty also keeps another 'pet' under lock and key. It just so happens that when Lord Trancy's son was kidnapped, word of the family being the Queen's 'Spider' was released as well." "'Spider'? If I may be so bold as to ask how you yourself Milady, learned of such a thing?" Dimitri wondered. I sighed and looked around. There were far too many guests in the room that one would probably over hear our conversation. Lord Trancy's son could wait a few more minutes. Weaving through the sea of people, Dimitri followed me back out onto the veranda. "I'm sure my father's told you about some of his associates being linked with England's Underworld, no?" "Only briefly my Lady." I carefully nodded. Even I didn't know much about Father's ties to the Underworld and quite frankly I didn't care. All I knew was that a small fraction of his business was somehow associated in the Underworld. "I see… so you probably don't know any more than I. No matter, I only learned of the 'Spiders' identity not long ago. Only when my father had some of his associates over for dinner, I accidently heard it."

Dimitri nodded. "I promise that such information shall never leave my lips, Milady… Now please, I'm sure you've kept the young Trancy waiting long enough. I shall escort you to him." He smiled. I returned the favor and followed him back inside. Sitting in one of the corners of the room, just far enough to not attract any attention for the other guests was a young boy, with blonde hair and sky blue eyes, watching intently. Almost as if he was looking for someone. It didn't appear that he was here for the party either seeing that he wore a purple jacket with a high collar, a dark green bow and vest and dark blue booty shorts. Standing next to him like an ever present shadow was a butler clad in black. Was it not for his golden eyes and glasses, I would have sworn that it was Sebastian standing next to the boy and not another butler.

As soon as we approached the two, I immediately wanted to run and find Sebastian. The young Trancy's butler scared me even more than Sebastian did when I first met him. As much as I didn't want to, I swallowed my words of protest and kept my gaze locked on the young boy. "Lord Trancy, may I introduce you to my young Mistress Claire Rocwell." Dimitri said, in a very professional manner I might add. Seemed he was a quick learner. The young boy looked me up and down from head to toe. Quite the strange gesture from someone younger than I. "You're a lot cuter in person. No wonder Lord Phantomhive's butler likes you so much. Isn't that right, Claude?" He whistled, the edge of his tone darkening in distain? Claude didn't reply. Either he was embarrassed that his young charge was being quite rude, or it was something else that had caught his attention. I feared the latter of the two and began getting uncomfortable just being NEAR the butler. "I'm Alois by the way. And this is my butler Claude Faustus." Alois smirked, pointing to his butler rather enthusiastically.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Trancy." I smiled. A fake one of course. I knew that I was taking a risk by judging the boy just from our first meeting, but if he's anything like the current Earl, I'd rather not be associated with a noble such as himself. We spoke rather nonchalantly for a few minutes about some recent affairs of the world. None seemed to really be of interest of Alois. Our conversation was quickly turning awkward. I wanted nothing more than to leave at this point, and luckily my silent prayers were answered. "Claire! There you are!" A rather gruff called as he approached us. Father didn't sound too happy to find me speaking with Lord Alois, but then again, he was in a rather foul mood ever since we arrived here. "Hello Father." I said rather casually, hoping to somehow lighten his mood. "Please excuse me for a moment Lord Trancy. I must speak with my Daughter and her escort." "That's fine. I was hoping to talk to you before I leave, Lord Rocwell." Alois smirked. His tone obviously hid an alternative meaning that made my father slightly cringe. "Yes, very well. Now if you'll excuse us." Father said, giving a curt nod to Alois and his butler. "I hope we can get to know each other better the next time we meet, Claire."

I didn't manage to give him a response. I was pulled away somewhat harshly away from the two. "Claire, I shouldn't have to tell you to stay away from the Trancy boy." Father warned. "Yes. I understand." "Good. I have some business to take care of elsewhere at the moment. Lord Phantomhive will escort you and Demetri back home at the end of the night." "Business? Did something happen at the factory?" I asked. That factory was currently our only life line. If something happened to it, no doubt our family would become bankrupt. "That is none of your concern at the moment. I will be home late tomorrow afternoon. Make sure your brother continues with his studies while I'm away." Father said. "Yes sir. Please, have a safe trip." I smiled weakly. He kissed me on the forehead and with that, took his leave of the gathering.

Dimitri refused to leave my side after Father had left rather abruptly. It wasn't an everyday occurrence that he left in such manners, but on occasions he would do just that. Lord Phantomhive joined his guests shortly after Father's departure, save for his butler. I couldn't help but find that a bit, well odd for lack of a better word. The Phantomhive butler struck me as the ever loyal shadow that refused to leave his masters side unless instructed to do so. Regardless of said butler's disappearance, I was determined to enjoy what I could of this gathering. My attention returned to the conversation that Anastasia had struck up with another of the guests. Of course her being here did not surprise anyone.

Baroness Angelina Durless-Barnett—widely known to the public as 'Madam Red' for her fondness of the color—was one of the few nobles whom I personally considered part of my second family. Her late husband, Baron Barnett and my father had actually grown up together and considered each other to be siblings. Madam Red had also been present during the births of my younger brothers and of course, at the time of my mother's death. "Honestly Madam, where did you find a butler such as him?" Anastasia groaned after Angelina's butler Grell Sutcliff had tripped onto the floor. I heaved a sigh internally. If anything, Anastasia was almost exactly like father when it came to incompetent servants, possibly even worse than he. "Dimitri please go help the poor man so that he doesn't embarrass himself further." I said under my breath. Without a word, Dimitri walked over to the Barnett butler and helped him back to his feet. "Really Claire, why do you take pity on people like him?" "He's only human Ana. Nobody is perfect." "On the contrary darling and you know it. I saw you dancing with a certain butler earlier." Anastasia said in a rather smug tone. Immediately I could feel the heat of a blush spread across my entire face. "I-I have n-no idea what you are talking about Anastasia!" My words came out rather choppy as I tried to deny her accusations. But sadly to no avail. "There's no need to worry dear…" Madam Red started.

Had I known at the time the events that were soon to transpire, I would have never believed a word that Madam Red said to me.

"Besides it's obvious that my darling nephew's butler has taken an interest in you as well!" She smiled. "Madam!" I shrieked. "That is not funny at all!" Both women laughed at my feeble attempts to deny everything they said of Sebastian and myself. As much as I secretly wished for the accusations to be true, they would only remain a young girl's fantasy. "Honestly Claire there is no need for you to over react. We're only kidding. You really shouldn't take things so seriously my dear baby cousin." Anastasia sighed. "Unfortunately you are the one who usually takes things too seriously, dear cousin… I'd rather not have falsehoods spread behind my back since you can never get a story straight." I spat. One of Anastasia's many flaws… She was a glutton for spreading gossip. No one was safe from her twisted tongue. Not even her fiancé could avoid the rumors she had spread about him having an affair with an engaged noblewoman. It had caused quite the uproar among nobles that Joel's family had become social outcasts for a time until said noblewomen clarified everything. What a fiasco that had been. And surprisingly enough, Joel never found out that it was his fiancée Anastasia that had spread the rumor.

The night continued on and, at the very height of the festivities, Sebastian had returned from whatever it was Lord Phantomhive asked of him and took his rightful place next to the young Earl. To say that I wasn't trembling inside after catching a mischievous glint in his eyes would be an understatement. Granted of course the butler is very handsome, I still can't shake the feeling that I have whenever I'm around him. And truthfully that is what frightens me. Earl Trancy and his butler had left shortly before Sebastian returned. Something told me that the Trancy boy didn't particularly care for Earl Phantomhive. "Oh, by the way Claire, did you happen to run into Earl Trancy's son Alois?" Anastasia asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Only for a moment. He seemed rather… preoccupied with something during our conversation." "Then I assume you've already heard the news then." "News?" Anastasia's tone of voice was what actually caught me off guard. She seemed rather solemn for the moment. Quite the drastic change from her happy gossip attitude. "Earl Trancy passed away not long ago. Alois was forced to take over the earldom. I assumed that was why he asked to speak with you."

I suppose that would explain why Alois seemed so detached from the world around him. "Honestly, what is this world coming to?" I groaned. It seemed like a common trend lately that noble children were being forced into the earldom after their predecessor's untimely death. "Didn't the same thing happen to Earl Phantomhive?" Madam Red nodded, knowing that the question was directed towards her. She didn't seem to like the idea of her nephew being the Earl very much at all. The conversation was dropped shortly after and for the remainder of the night, Dimitri and I aimlessly wandered around the ballroom, striking up conversations with other nobles when they called me over.

I was rather glad when the gathering had finally come to an end. I was tired from just standing around listening to what some of the nobles had to say. Those who remained in the ballroom now were myself and Dimitri, Lord Phantomhive and Sebastian, Madam Red and her butler, and Anastasia and Joel. I remained quite while Lord Phantomhive and Lord Whitlock discussed some business deals and what not. Madam Red briefly giving her own opinions of the idea here and there. Sebastian stayed quite as well, only bothering to listen to his master's conversation. Even then I highly doubted he took any interest in it. Without even having to look up in his direction, I could feel his gaze burning holes into my head. I greatly disliked the feeling as well.

My mind began to wander. Unfortunately back to that rather dreadful event that I wish I could forget. Even now I couldn't make any sense of the matter. And if I told anyone, they would assume that I was mental and my family's reputation would be destroyed. Sometimes I wished that I was never born a noble. During the whole time, none of us had noticed that it had begun to storm out until a rather loud crack of thunder ripped us all out of our trains of thought and the entire estate fell into the eternal darkness that only recently scared me out of my wits.

"Are you sure about this my Lord? If Mistress Claire were to learn of this, she would be devastated." Jeremy worried after what his master had just told him of what was about to transpire. "Unfortunately I have no say in this matter anymore. The 'Guard Dog' was ordered to eliminate anyone associated with the business. No doubt that he'll send that mange mutt of his to do all the dirty work." Alexander spat. Jeremy's features were sunken with fear and utter disbelief. His master was right of course. The Earl's lap dog would not rest until his master's order was fulfilled. "And what of the children, my Lord. Michael is still too young to run the rest of the company on his own. And Mistress Claire hardly knows anything about the inner working of it." "There is no need to worry about that. Dimitri will be handling the underworld's affairs from now until Michael is of age." Alexander stated, although it hardly did much to reassure the older gentlemen. "Of course." Jeremy bowed. Alexander turned and stepped into the carriage, hesitating a moment before turning back to Jeremy. "Claire will run the family's affairs until Michael's thirteenth birthday. Whether you decide to continue to serve our family is entirely up to you and your daughter… it has been a great pleasure having you as a butler, my friend." "It has been my greatest honor to have been able to serve under you, Master Alexander."

Without a glance back at the Phantomhive estate, Alexander closed the door to the carriage. Resigned to his fate, Alexander Rocwell welcomed his impending death with open arms. Even if it was a demon that would be the end of him.


End file.
